Maccabi Brussels A

It was a cold Thursday night. Full moon or almost? FC Ireland Ladies 2 were ready to get their 3 points. Our beloved Scandinavian defender, Matilda, was soon to be off. A win was the only possible way to end the evening.

And so they did. The first few minutes, Ladies 2, battled the cold, battled Maccabi. The Maccabi style? One could say Tiki Taki. The midfield: Adina, Priscila and Rebecca and the defensive line had to stay concentrated. Maccabi had an early missile of a shot, but thankfully did not go in. Focus was at its utmost.

Through balls to the attackers were numerous and very quickly Rebecca found Liesbet on the left wing. With Liesbet’s notorious hustle she battled her way right through the goalie and past the goal line for the treasured goal.

The second half Maccabi came out strong, wanting to match FC Ireland’s goal, but no such thing happened. The defensive line, Isabel, Jenny, Matilda and Marianne were a strong wall and goalkeeper Mariana was ready at every moment despite her freezing feet. Francesca, Sephora, Lily, Ade and Eli battled on, giving many scares to the Maccabi goalie.

Full moon or not? The game ended 1-0 for FC Ireland. A clean win. Well done ladies and coaches and thank you to our supporters 🙂

FC Irlande ladies 2 gathered on the home ground on a grey and rainy Wednesday, ready for their third game of the season. This time against a familiar opponent – Maccabi Brussels. With the perfect conditions for a football game (according to some), everything was set for success.

The game started in a high tempo, with the opponents trying to surprise the greens with some long passes towards the defensive line. FCI was soon able to counter-attack, resulting in a corner for FCI. Adina directed a well aimed pass into the box, which landed right on Jenny’s forehead and went straight into the net. 1-0 TO FC IRLANDE!

The ladies continued to play with confidence and showed several good sets of passing skills and cooperation. However, all of a sudden the opponents took their chance to strike back, after some light confusion in front of the Irish goal. 1-1.

After a much-needed half time rest and some empowering advice from the coaches, FCI started the second half with a sharp focus. Only two minutes in, after a masterly build-up play, Adina showed some great skills again and placed the ball neatly behind the Maccabi goalkeeper and brought FCI back in the lead.

The show was not over yet, as one of the absolute highlights of the game was still about to happen. In the 60th minute, FCI got a free-kick from at least 30m from the goal. Priscila saw no other solution than sending a master class shot above the keeper’s head and straight into the net. Golazooo!

Only a few minutes later, Priscila advanced to the box again, to score the fourth goal for FCI. Despite the flow for FCI, Maccabi continued to pressure tirelessly and managed to score again in the 75th minute.

After the final whistle, the celebrations could begin. A 4-2 win and the first three points of the season! A great fight and team effort from all the players, involving even some nosebleed, sweat and (happy) tears.